mynovelweb Chapter 345 The Setting Sun (Page 12)
Chapter 345 The Setting Sun (Page 12)
Vesemir's gaze seemed to pierce through her and fall once more on Mobius.
"The trial is passed, and your performance is acceptable. However, rewards and punishments must be clearly distinguished." His voice remained calm, yet it proclaimed the final judgment: "Your offense against the Heris family—the trespassing, destruction, killing, and kidnapping—must be paid for."
"Given your 'value,' the punishment will be borne by the associates."
No! Helia's icy heart was finally struck by a boulder, and she understood Vesemir's intention! An intention more terrifying than death!
"Take it out on me!" she screamed for the first time, her composed facade crumbling.
Vesemir ignored him.
Those illusory fingers seemed to pluck once again the invisible yet real "string" that connects the essence of countless magicians.
In the distance, Mobius's battered body trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
He suddenly opened his eyes, but those eyes, which once burned with fiery passion or sparkled with wisdom, were now just empty indifference, as if his soul had been forcibly extracted, leaving only an empty shell awaiting instructions.
A cold, tyrannical will, originating from the level of rules, like the hardest iron shackles, forcefully poured into and drove this exhausted body.
He could "feel" it.
He could feel how that force pried open his weakened mental defenses, how it manipulated him like a puppet, directly etching commands into his muscles and nerves.
The boundless suffering does not come from the body, but from the extreme humiliation and resistance of having one's soul desecrated and one's will trampled.
He "heard" the cold command that drove him to act—go to Helia and end her.
No! no way!
The remaining will belonging to "Mobius" roared silently from the deepest part of his soul, frantically attacking the invisible shackles, trying to regain even the slightest bit of control.
His fingers dug blood into the mud, his teeth clenched so hard they rattled, and veins bulged on his forehead as he engaged in an invisible yet extremely dangerous tug-of-war with the force of his attack.
However, the absolute power disparity is despairing.
His struggles, like insects trapped in amber, were futile yet tragic.
Driven by that irresistible will, his body began to slowly, inch by inch, rise from the ground in a strange, stiff posture that was completely contrary to his will.
Every movement of his joints was accompanied by excruciating pain, as if his soul were being torn apart, but he could not stop.
Step by step, dragging his broken and battered body, which seemed on the verge of falling apart, he staggered toward Helia.
Raise your hand.
The five fingers are like hooks, and the joints make a faint sound of strain due to the force of the movement.
The target was Helia's vulnerable neck.
“Experience the ‘price’ that you have incurred.” Vesemir’s voice, like the whisper of the laws of the world, coldly announced the next step in this cruel drama. “This may help you better understand what… boundaries are in your future career as a ‘container’.”
"Teacher! Stop! Teacher! Wake up! Don't give in! Look at me!!"
Helia struggled and screamed frantically, tears mingling with blood streaming down her face.
She watched as her teacher's empty eyes drew closer, eyes devoid of any familiar warmth, anger, or sorrow, only a deathly emptiness forcibly erased of all emotion.
This look terrified her more than any look of hatred or pain, sending shivers down her spine.
She wasn't afraid of dying herself, but she couldn't bear to watch the most important person in her life be destroyed in such a manipulated and desecrated way, with herself as the ultimate target!
Just as those cold, stiff fingers were about to touch Helia's skin, a sudden change occurred!
In the deepest part of Mobius’s empty eyes, it seemed as if two stars about to be completely annihilated suddenly burst forth with their last and most dazzling brilliance in the boundless forced emptiness!
That wasn't magic; it was the ultimate, resolute flame of will that erupted from the burning of the most core imprint of his soul and the burning away of all "existence" itself!
The flames were not for attack, but for—breaking free!
At the same time, the cold, invisible "string" that controlled him seemed to "loosen" for a very brief and slight moment!
It was as if some external, higher-priority "instruction" or "interference" had intervened in this sophisticated control network.
Is it the lingering resentment from Colin's death? Or is it an unknown resonance triggered by Helia's intense emotional shock?
Or... other hidden, undetected factors?
Vesemir's illusory eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
He noticed this subtle sign of things getting out of control.
However, this brief, almost non-existent "loosening" was a glimmer of hope for the last bit of power that Möbius gained by burning his soul!
"Ugh—Ahhh!!" A scream, inhuman and a mixture of extreme pain and rage, escaped from deep within Mobius's throat!
His arm, driven and about to strangle his beloved disciple, burst forth with astonishing power at an angle completely contrary to the control command. The muscles twisted and spasmed, and the bones made a teeth-grinding cracking sound, abruptly changing its trajectory!
At the same time, from the deepest part of his shattered body came an extremely faint sound, yet it seemed to resonate directly within the consciousness of Helia and even Vesemir—a sound originating from the very essence of existence: a "shattering" sound.
It was not a physical explosion, but rather the life imprint's voluntary, ultimate self-annihilation—a choice made to completely break free from control and to prevent this body from becoming a pathetic tool for harming loved ones! The self-destruction of the soul!
There was no earth-shattering light, no deafening roar.
Only that raised arm, having finally exhausted all its strength, gently and helplessly rested on Helia's thin shoulder, which was pressed down by an invisible force and unable to move, like a weary traveler's last support, or a silent yet resolute farewell embrace.
Then, all life, like a candle in the wind, was suddenly extinguished.
The blankness that had been forcibly erased from his eyes receded like the tide, and in the last instant, what was revealed was Helia's pale face, streaked with tears, filled with endless despair, pleading, and collapse.
In the deepest recesses of those eyes, a faint, indescribable complex expression seemed to flicker—a mixture of concern, apology, and deep reluctance.
Perhaps, there is also a trace of gentle tranquility, a sense of relief at finally being freed from grave mistakes.
Then, the light completely dimmed, turning into eternal nothingness.
Mobius lost all strength and vitality, leaned forward, and gently pressed his forehead against Helia's cold neck, then fell silent.
In a silent, self-annihilating, most tragic yet gentle way, it completed its final, and eternal, act of protection.
Helia... froze.
Time, sound, cold rain, the weight on my shoulders...
All senses seemed to be stretched and distorted in an instant, and then vanished with a roar.
The world became a hollow white noise.
The touch on her shoulder was light, yet heavier than a mountain, pressing down on her soul, making it creak and shatter.
The coldness began from the small patch of skin he touched, spreading wildly, freezing her blood, freezing her breath, freezing every thought, dragging her entire world into the abyss of absolute zero.
Lost...
Utterly and completely defeated.
Her composure, her weighing of options, her necessary evil... all seemed like a laughable game for an ignorant child in the face of Vesemir's absolute power, cold rules, and precise calculations.
Not only did she fail to save the teacher... but her "value," and her act of "testing" him, became the direct force that led the teacher to this final outcome!
Vesemir observed the scene silently, a faint, starlight-like glint in his ethereal eyes. His whispers, like an ancient scroll unfurling, spoke: "A second burst of individual willpower, occurring amidst a tiny disturbance in the forced control network, achieves the ultimate breakthrough, choosing existential self-annihilation..."
"The obsession with protecting a specific target is assessed as an abnormal peak, which has constituted a significant interference variable."
“The variable has been eliminated. However, the potential emotional imprint and soul disturbance caused by this variable to the ‘container’ need to be included in the subsequent ‘purification’ process for in-depth evaluation.”
"Record: Mobius, individual imprint, confirmed to have been completely erased."
His gaze fell back on Helia.
At this moment, she was like a delicate doll whose soul had been taken away. There was no longer any cold determination or frantic struggle in her eyes, only an endless, empty, and deathly silence, as if something inside her had died along with her teacher.
"The 'container,' the core emotional module, collapsed violently due to the removal of key variables, entering a state of deep disorder and stagnation. The timing... was perfect."
Vesemir's voice returned to its timeless stillness, as if the previous incident had not affected him in the slightest.
"Follow me back. Deep 'purification' and 'adaptation' begin now..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
Helia, who had collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all life, suddenly began to tremble violently!
It wasn't a tremor of sadness, but a violent, destructive tremor that erupted from the deepest part of the soul!
"Ugh... Ughh ...
A piercing roar, utterly inhuman and a mixture of endless grief, rage, despair, and mad beastly ferocity, exploded from the depths of her throat, shattering the heavens!
The mixed magical power that had been devoured and not yet fully absorbed within her, along with a dormant, ancient, and violent power within her own bloodline, were ignited and went out of control at this moment by extreme emotions!
Snap, snap—the sickening sounds of bones dislocating and growing echoed one after another!
Her ten fingers suddenly extended, her nails turning black, sharp, and curved, gleaming with a metallic cold light, transforming into terrifying dragon claws that fiercely gripped the ground, carving out deep furrows!
On either side of the forehead, the skin was torn, and two twisted, nascent dark bone horns were forced out, winding upwards. Although not fully formed, they already exuded a savage pressure!
Beneath the exposed skin of the cheeks, neck, and arms, fine, shimmering, dark scales appear and disappear layer by layer, as if some ancient bloodline is flowing and roaring under the skin, trying to break out of the body!
Her eyes, with their sapphire blue pupils, suddenly contracted, then expanded violently, transforming into pure, savage vertical pupils burning with golden flames! The coldness and madness of a apex predator filled them!
His mouth parted to reveal sharp, seemingly capable of crushing metal, and a threatening, low growl escaped his throat.
Transform into a dragon!
Although incomplete, the ancient characteristics of the dragon race that was the companion of the legendary god of war, or some ancient manifestation of its divinity itself, were violently manifested in Helia at this moment!
"I—will—kill—you—!!" The dragon-transformed girl let out a roar filled with boundless hatred, her voice now half-human and half-beast.
The invisible force suppressing her was suddenly and violently impacted by the chaotic and violent dragon's might and the remnants of divinity, causing a brief period of stagnation and disorder!
"boom!"
The earth shattered! With this frenzied power, Helia briefly broke free from Vesemir's suppression!
She landed on all fours like a true ferocious beast, carrying a furious and sorrowful rage that seemed to tear everything apart. She transformed into a dark golden afterimage and pounced on the Vesemir projection that was suspended in the air with a speed that was almost like a spatial leap!